Common Causes of Malpractice Litigation
Malpractice litigation is a complex procedure. The degree to which an error is considered to be
Malpractice Lawyers is dependent on whether the patient can prove four legal elements such as a professional duty breach of this duty; injury due to the breach and damages that can be quantifiable.
Plaintiffs must prove these elements through evidence like expert testimony, depositions, or discovery.
The wrong diagnosis and the inability to recognize
Inability to recognize an injury or illness correctly could lead to serious complications, or death. It is a typical cause of medical negligence. To prove negligence, the patient or their attorney must prove that a competent doctor under similar circumstances and working in the same specialty would not have missed the diagnosis.
Every misdiagnosis can be considered to be
malpractice, however. Even experienced and highly trained doctors make mistakes. Therefore, any claim for malpractice must be backed by other factors, such as breach, proximate causes and actual injury. If a doctor does not sterilize his equipment prior the time he administers anesthesia and the patient becomes infected as a result of this, the doctor could be guilty.
The majority of lawsuits involving malpractice are filed in state trial courts, where the alleged malpractice took place. However, federal courts could have jurisdiction in certain situations. For example, a claim could be filed in federal court if it is disputes over the time limit or when there is a substantial diversity of citizenship of the parties to the case. Certain disputes are settled through arbitration that is binding and voluntary. This is a less formal process with professional decision makers. It is designed to reduce costs, expedite legal proceedings, and eliminate the risk of overly generous juries. Arbitration is not available in all instances of malpractice.
The wrong dosage of medication
Medication errors, also referred as medication mistakes are among the most common causes of medical malpractice lawsuits. They can result from a doctor prescribing a prescription in error or delivering the wrong dose to patients. These errors are usually preventable. According to the circumstances an individual pharmacy, hospital or other health care providers could be held accountable for injuries caused by a patient who was given the wrong dose of a medication.
A doctor could prescribe wrong medication to a patient because of an inaccurate diagnosis or simply because he/she misreads the prescription. A health professional could also administer the wrong dosage due to an inability to communicate for example, when nurses read the doctor's handwritten prescription incorrectly or the pharmacist is mistaken in filling out the prescription. In other cases, a doctor could delay the proper medication to the patient, resulting in their condition deteriorating.
To be successful in a malpractice case, the victim must show that the medical professional acted in breach of their duty of care and that negligence directly caused their injuries. This requires medical expert testimony. Medical malpractice cases also must prove the extent and severity of the victim's injuries. This includes the cost of treatment as well as any lost wage. The more money you lose is, the more valuable of the claim.
Wrong Procedure
It might seem absurd that medical professionals could perform the incorrect procedure on a patient, however, this kind of thing occurs. A surgeon who commits this error can be found responsible for malpractice. However patients who are injured by a surgical mistake may also be held liable for any negligence that occurred along the way to the procedure.
A health care professional accused of negligence must prove that the patient was injured due to a specific act, or inability to act. To establish this, the legal team representing the patient must show: (1) that the doctor was obligated to provide care or treat the patient; (2) that he breached that duty; (3) that a causal connection exists between the breach and injury and (4) the harm results in damages that the legal system can deal with.
A breach of the duty of care has no significance unless it causes injury, which is the reason medical malpractice claims are typically built on a legal concept called "res ipsa loquitur." This law states that, in a majority of cases, certain injuries are so obvious and unmistakable that they are only explained by negligent actions.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, the plaintiff (the patient or their legally designated representative) or their attorney may bring the case in state or federal court. The majority of malpractice cases are filed in state courts, however in certain situations a medical negligence case may be filed in federal district court.
Wrong Surgery
Surgery performed on the wrong site is a very rare error, but it could be considered medical malpractice when the procedure is performed on the wrong area of the body. This type of error usually occurs as due to miscommunication between members of a surgical team or production pressure that leads to the surgeon being tasked with multiple surgeries simultaneously. In these cases the surgeon isn't alone in his or her responsibility for a surgical error that is not performed correctly because there is an underlying legal principle referred to as "res ipsa loquitur" which means that the effect of the error is evident and cannot be traced to negligence.
If someone is injured during an improper procedure the patient may require additional procedures in order to correct problems that were made worse due to the error. Patients and their families are left with expensive medical bills. It is important to consider these costs when calculating the financial costs of medical malpractice lawsuits.
Surgeons are often held liable for surgical errors because they are the ones who are responsible for properly getting ready for the procedure and double-checking the patient's medical chart and medical records, communicating effectively with other members of the medical team, and making sure the incision is made on the correct site. In some cases, a hospital or anesthesiologist may also be held responsible. Medical malpractice claims are typically filed in state courts, but can be transferred under certain circumstances to federal court.